Never the Same Place Twice
"I got the text at quarter-to-midnight: the tent had just showed up in the lot behind the old antique store. I busted my ass to catch the last bus downtown, but when I got there everything was dark and deserted except for a graffiti'd canvas tent set up near the corner like a hobo decided to get fancy. I was sure this was some kind of joke, but I took a look inside anyway -- and holy hell, you will never believe.
"It was enormous inside, like a TARDIS on LSD, full of lights and highwires and elephants and stands full of people, and all the performers were dressed like a freak show and I swear most of 'em weren't even human. The acts were all impossible, gravity-bending and brain-exploding impossible, you'd never believe me if I told you. When it was over I walked home in a daze, but I didn't sleep that night; I went back in the morning but the tent was gone, like it'd never been there, like it'd never existed. My pictures are gone, too. I took like ten dozen pictures and four videos with my phone, and it's all been erased. Quit laughing, I swear it's all true!"
Setting
This RP takes place in modern-day America, where the strange and the supernatural (collectively called the Fae) live in the shadows, completely hidden from public knowledge. They hide -- as hobos, off the grid, or masquerading as humans with human lives -- because those who make themselves known go missing. Something invisible and seemingly omniscient hunts the Fae and keeps them scattered and afraid. As far as anyone knows this is the way it has always been. They call this invisible hunter 51.
The Circus Underground
Rockjaw and Silverheart's Circus Underground is a traveling circus troupe made up entirely of Fae and Fae-supporters, the only one of its kind. The circuit crosses the country from New York to San Francisco and everywhere in-between. They avoid 51 by running midnight shows in secret, keeping to the fairy roads and hopping traincars.
The co-owners of the Circus Underground are the Rockjaws and the Silverhearts, two families embroiled in a centuries-old feud that have grudgingly agreed to work together for the sake of the Circus. The Rockjaws have Dwarf blood in their mottled veins; they're eager for a fight and are mean and foul at every opportunity. The Silverhearts are pure Elves: quiet, sweet and generous, but with a sharp tongue to match the Rockjaws' bludgeoning honesty. Tensions therefore run high within the circus, and tricks and sabotage are the norm.
Characters
Characters may be of any race, species or affliction you wish, and worldbuilding is encouraged. The only strict rule is that the general public remains ignorant of the existence of Fae, and the world of the humans is exactly the same as the world as we know it in real life. What happens in the alleys and in the wilderness, however, is up to you.
Gameplay
This RP will be co-modded by @NorthernGR and @Mokley! Actual gameplay will begin with a focus on the Circus Underground and its performances. Expect mystery, comedy, whimsy, moral dilemmas, horror, adventure, and forays into widely varying environments including inner cities and deep wilderness. There will be very little fighting, especially in the beginning, but that's not to say there won't be more creative uses for your character's talents.
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